WannaCry helped boost the volume of ransomware attacks in 2017 dramatically, representing 90% of all ransomware detection reports. Overall, ransomware attacks increased by 400% from 2016, new data from F-Secure shows.

The number of new ransomware variants also spiked by 62%, with 343, and aside from WannaCry, Locky, Mole, Cerber, and CryptoLocker were the most commonly used ransomware families. But according to F-Secure, the overall use of ransomware declined in the second half of 2017. 

"The last couple of years saw cybercriminals developing lots of new kinds of ransomware, but that activity tapered off after last summer. So it looks like the ransomware gold rush mentality is over, but we already see hard core extortionists continuing to use ransomware, particularly against organizations because WannaCry showed everyone how vulnerable companies are," says F-Secure Security Advisor Sean Sullivan. Cryptomining also took hold, he says.

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